High-End Prices

So, your premise is that high end areas people want to sell their homes, but they can't because there is a 14 month supply.  Could it be that the people in high end areas are not selling or moving, so the amount of people buying the high end homes is reduced to those having to sell because they need to move.   If the owners of an high end home was in as bad a shape as you surmise, then the price of high end homes would drop until someone bought them .  The fact that the homes are still listed at a high price means that the seller has not reached the point where they need to drop the price to sell it.  

It will not take much to churning to make the high end market turn around.  A bit of confidence, a couple of good sales, that are reported, and then trading will begin, and the inventory will decrease because people will feel a need to buy a home instead of just thinking about it.